John Costello – An Odd Number at Table Jan Edwards – Concerning Events at Leinster Gardens William Meikle – Carnacki: A Cold Christmas in Chelsea Raven Dane – A Taste of Almonds Richard Farren Barber – Where the Stones Lie Nicholas Martin – All that is Living Thana Niveau – And May All your Christmases Martin Roberts – Now and Then Paul Finch – December Gary McMahon – Ritualism Neil Williams – We Are a Shadow John Forth – The Green Clearing Adrian Tchaikovsky – Lost Soldiers

Simon Marshall-Jones – Publisher’s Acknowledgements

BONUS

Stephen Volk – Whitstable novella preview

Blurb:

Christmas – a season of goodwill given to all mankind, and of snowbound winter wonderlands; a time for the gathering of families and friends to share in a bounteous harvest of good cheer, of sparkling decorations and roaring fires lighting up the parlour; and of glittering presents strewn beneath the glorious fir tree, and of excited children full of boundless joy in their hearts. And the time when the ghosts of those long gone, of the restless, the unhappy and the bitter are closest to the living, walking abroad in the frozen landscape outside the cosy living-room window. Here are thirteen seasonal tales of those lonely, wandering spirits, guaranteed to bring delicious thrills to all aficionados of the ghostly and the supernatural. Inside these pages you will find, amongst others, stories of eerie urban myths, age-old rituals, lost invaders from history, haunted weather phenomena, strange spirits, and creatures of myth and legend, told by some of the finest and most exciting writers working in the field today.